3D Printering: Non-Planar Layer FDM

Ideally, non-planar 3D printing is done using a somewhat pointy nozzle, as flat nozzles tend to dig into the previously printed material and easily get entangled in infill structures. Generally, a pointy nozzle allows for steeper printing angles, although you always need to make sure that no other parts of the nozzle or print-head are getting in the way. Especially fan mounts or ducts are prone to collide with parts of the print. I’m using an E3Dv6 hotend and nozzle for the examples in this post, although there are probably better solutions out there. In particular, the Merlin hotend features a very fine and pointy nozzle, with the only thing that could get into the way being the heater block.